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A paper on art history, written by Associate Professor Yang Bin from the Department of History, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau (UM), received the first prize at an international forum on images, seals, and sealings organised by the Xiling Seal Art Society. This is the third consecutive year that Prof Yang has received an award from the society. In addition, Yang received approval for his nomination for the membership of the society, becoming the sixth member of the society from Macao.
In his paper titled ‘Exodus: Lotus Seals and Sealings in a Transregional Perspective’, Prof Yang examined the distribution of lotus seals and sealings in Egypt, the Mesopotamia, India, Southeast Asia, and Tibet. He particularly discussed the lack of this kind of lotus seals and sealings in China, where the seal art has thrived from the Shang period (13th century BC) to the present day.
Founded in 1904, the Xiling Seal Art Society is arguably the only scholarly organisation from the late Qing dynasty that has survived until the present day. The society is dedicated to the practice and studies of traditional Chinese seals, sealings, stone and metal artefacts, paintings, and calligraphy.